lost time and tap all of its potential. we have lots of things in common with the u.s., vast, generous territory, people, hard working people, we don't have racial problems that affect some african countries or the wars waged in europe, nor the religious conflicts of europe itself. therefore, latin america is called to compromise or commitment with its on fate and, therefore, we are looking forward to president obama's words. we are all left-handed. we have many coincidences. we studied in harvard, both of us. we are sportsman. president obama continue to be a basketball player. i was in my time as well. i think the first lady of the u.s. is very good looking and president obama has said the same about the first lady of chile. there are plenty of coincidences

but the most important is the one we'll find this afternoon and modestly if i could suggest to president obama, we hope to have partnership that is one where we have all responsibilities and n extensionalist alliance. extensionalist has never been enough to face major problems but a partnership of collaboration between latin america and the united states sharing values, principles, and a common vision. and that alliance should be comprehensive. it should reach out to the fields of democracy, freedom, rule of law, defense of human rights. and i think that we have to improve the democratic charter of oas. it should hopen up the door of free trade of goods and services and faster than what we have

done here. in addition to that, to include those subjects which are the true pillars of the 21st century, quality of education, science, technology, innovation, entrepreneurship. there in lie the pillars for latin perk to leave underdevelopment behind. we have to much to learn from the united states than in its 230 years of independent life has really gave -- has given true evidence of being an innovative country and has made the largest contribution of progress to mankind. and, thus, latern ameri erlatine united states have a lot to gain from the alliance, also has to reach out to the most challenges of the 21st century, energy. to have clean, safe, renewable

energies. and water, if global warming keeps on going, coil be the most scarce resource of our country. and also face the major problems of modern society that cannot be faced un lilaterallunilaterally crime, terrorism, global warming. the subject of world security, it can no longer be faced individually. we need to work jointly together. in our view that will call for an international order which will replace that which emerged after the second world war and to be appropriate and adapted to the needs and challenges of the. the only constant thing we have is change. time is here so that finally this relationship of encounters,

disencounters, shaking hands or our backs for that to be in the past and let us initiate a new era, collaboration, reencountering, effectively, concretely, that will truly face the major problems that will also open up the doors to tap the main opportunities. the society of knowledge and information is knocking on our doors. latin america is -- was late to the industrial revolution. we cannot be late in this tremendous revolution which is so much deeper, which is that of knowledge and information. as -- and it has been very generous, very generous with the countries that want to embrace it but very cool with those countries that do not tap it. no child should be left behind, i've heard this from president obama. and here isao in latin america, no country should be left

behind. thank you. >> as you see there, president obama and chile's president pinera wrapping up their press conference. the president taking one reporter's series of questions on the developments in libya, but for the most part, president obama reit's rating what we've heard, this is a humanitarian effort and international mandate to protect the people of libya. we've also received new news out of tripoli that an explosion has been heard in the capital of libya followed by anti-aircraft rounds. we're working to get more details on this 37 but we know that the air assault continues by the coalition forces in this campaign that's gone on for three days, in an effort to blowout the air defense system of gadhafi and his supporters. in the end president obama wants to see gadhafi step down from power in libya. martin bashir continues our coverage and he starts now.

thank you very much, tamron. good afternoon. president obama, as you've said, answering questions at a press conference along side the president of chile. and at this hour, allied commanders say they're satisfies with the results of air strikes targeting the military assets of gadhafi. today coalition forces flew between 70 and 80 sorties over the country to enforce the u.n. mandated no-fly zone. over half of those flown by u.s. pilots. this follows a massive bombardment by 124 tomahawk cruise missiles, attacks by b-2 stealth bombers, f-16s, f-15s, tornadoes and typhoons of the british royal air force and other coalition assets. a massive and impressive display of fire power. but one that comes with considerable financial costs. some estimates suggest the u.s. has spent over $100 million on the first day of strikes alone.

but while the decision to commence these attacks was largely straightforward, without any opposition votes on the u.n. security council, questions are now arising about whether this can remain a humanitarian mission. nbc's richard engel joins us now. good afternoon, richard. >> reporter: good to talk to you. it certainly does not feel like a humanitarian mission. this is not a food drop or a relief effort. this is air support for a rebel war and today the rebels are taking advantage of this finally and are leaving their safe havens in cities like where i am in benghazi and pushing forward and capturing rebel gadhafi-held territory. they've been moving into a place called ajdabiya and they say this counteroffensive aided by the air cover that they've been receiving from the united states and other nations has helped them and that they will continue to push forward of the rebel

counteroffensive. >> what has the mood been like as the third day of strikes as continued? >> the mood is absolutely euphoric. people are coming out of their houses, they're going to restaurants, they're shopping, they don't feel in places like benghazi that there will be a massive price to pay for having stood up and opposed gadhafi. a few days ago, when it looked like gadhafi's forces were going to overrun the city and overrun benghazi, people were taking down rebel flags. they worried that gadhafis forces would come in and go, as gadhafi said, house to house, looking for rebels and looking for anyone who supported this revolt to kill them. now, they have a renewed feeling of confidence. they feel they are safe. that's from the civilians' point of view. from the rebel perspective, they feel that they have an alliance with the united states military which is something most rebels can only dream of having.

>> richard, as you're speaking now, we're hearing and seeing gunfire above tripoli. this is obviously continuing, even as you speak. >> reporter: certainly has been. and the rebels here are divided into two sections. they're divided into the regular street fighters, the volunteers who have joined up, and the army units that have defected from the gadhafi army and are now joined with the rebels. the aeshlrmy unit and commander tell us they are in contact with the american and other allied commanders to make sure that they don't get caught up in this. they know that these allied offensives are continuing so the defected army units are trying to avoid congregating in any convoys, trying to avoid going out in what could look like a military-style pattern. they are mostly staying back in their bases and allowing the volunteer fighters to go forward

because they drive in civilian cars and don't look like the kind of military targets that the u.s. and european allies are now striking. >> richard, any sign of the whereabouts of the colonel himself? >> no. he has not been at least i have -- i'm not aware of his whereabouts. he hasn't been seen in public in days. and it's significant that his last several speeches have all been audio recordings, plays over a generic background, usually that fist holding the model plane, a symbol of defiance in tripoli. his where abouts are enknown at this stage. about we can only assume he's still in libya, perhaps even in tripoli. but, no, we don't know where he is. >> nbc's richard engel, thank you very much for joining us. for more on what's happening on the ground in the rebel stronghold of benghazi, we're joined on the phone by a

washington correspondent for the guardian newspaper in london, on assignment in libya. good evening, chris. >> reporter: good evening. >> i understand you were able to venture out today. did you see the same thing that we've just had described, demoralized troops of gadhafi, as well as the sheer fire power of coalition forces? >> reporter: i didn't see gadhafi's forces, because they are on the other side of the front line. i did see the destruction caused by air strikes on the 85, 90-mile drive from benghazi to ajdabiya. along that route there are more than a dozen tanks, two dozen armored personnel carriers and more besides that have been blown apart by the missile strikes, the air strikes. it is just a trail of destruction that would seem to have sent gadhafi's troops fleeing. that said, on the edge of

ajdabiya, the rebels who advanced under the cover of the air strikes, had come to a halt because there was resistance by gadhafi's forces. and i think what i saw today suggested how weak the rebels themselves are in the face of continued resistance by gadhafi. there was an air strike, we hear the planes overhead. we heard the explosions. the assumption by the rebels was that gadhafi's tanks have been knocked out and they advanced, came under a running of rockets, mortar fire, and then fled in complete and utter chaos in the face of this. what was clear was the rebel army really is only capable of advancing when it -- when gadhafi's forces are effectively knocked out by the air strikes. >> chris in light of your observation, do you think these rebels really need ground

support? it's all very well this air support and fire power, but they need ground support, don't they? >> reporter: well, that is a deeply divided issue. the position of the revolution and council and the rebels themselves, since the beginning, is that they do not want to see fallen troops fire in libya, partly because of the history. partly because of what they've seen on television, al jazeera, what's going on in iraq over the years since the invasion and on passion and really ground troops are -- that's the publicly stated position. still i asked members of the revolutionary council about it last night. they say they believe air strikes should be intensified. if gadhafi's tanks, guns, military hard ware are knocked out and the arm demoralize as a

result, rebel armies will be able to advance but they don't want to see foreign forces on libyan soil. >> chris, where are these rebels getting their munitions from, because i'm assuming, having got some from gadhafi's forces, they're running pretty low now. >> reporter: there were quite a number of bases in the east, particularly around benghazi, but also tobruk they have sieged a large number of weapons from the bases. a lot of rebels, particularly those merely volunteers and are very un disciplidisciplineundis today, not capable of taking orders they're wielding nothing more than. ak-47s. sometimes they only have hunting rifles. i saw one man advancing but nothing but a bayonet in his hand. however there are reports that ammunition in particular is coming across the border from

egypt. it has supplies of the kind of ammunition used in ak-47s, and that is reported -- though i have this personal firsthand knowledge of this -- reported to have been done with the encouragement of the united states government. at the moment, i see no general shortage of that kind of ammunition, simply because many rebel fighters are letting loose with their gunsfully time they feel like it. often in the city of benghazi itself, which is unnerving the civilian population. >> chris mcgreal of "the guardian," thank you very much. can the u.s. military effectively carry out a campaign intended to protect civilians without engaging troops on the ground? edward hunt, consultant with the jane security and military office in london and expert in the area of aerospace and defense engagements. good afternoon, mr. hunt. >> good morning.

>> the u.s. commander in africa says the mission is to protect civilians, not to support opposition forces. but in real, is it possible to do one without the other? >> well, the initial attacks, as you previously mentioned, have been strikes against command and control air defense assets which freeze up options to undertake further missions following the clearing 0 the skies of pro-gadhafi defensive forces. >> despite what we've been told about this being a humanitarian mission, only targeting gadhafi's air installations and so on, munitions areas, isn't there an unspoken intention here on part of the allies themselves to kill gadhafi? >> well, i can't really comment on that. that's more a political decision. if you noticed the u.n. mandate is quite open. it tells the participants they can take whatever means necessary to protect civilians, and obviously that means engaging small numbers of gadhafi forces who might be

intent on harming civilians and that becomes increasingly tricky, as we've seen in previous nato and u.n. air operations, the chances of collateral damage or accidental civilian death is high. in terms of targeting gadhafi, i think that's going to be a high-level policy decision that we yet don't know about. >> you probably heard, over the weekend, the uk defense secretary fox saying regime change is not an objective but may come about in time. so, how does this coalition avoid the temptation of mission creep? >> well, it's very difficult with air operations or any military operations of this kind. i suppose if there were hard intelligence that gadhafi was somewhere and it was believed that capturing or killing him would make a decisive impact, it might be followed through. but post-iraq and afghanistan, people are weary of committing themselves too much to these political decisions through

military power. and obviously the hope would be that libyan rebels themselves would make a decisive impact and cause a change in the regime. >> is it really possible, edward, to protect libyan civilians by simply firing on gadhafi's military assets without putting troops on the ground? >> well, it certainly more difficult in terms of reducing the ability of gadhafi's forces to attack. you can destroy tanks, armored vehicles, as your previous correspondent says and nato forces have trained long and hard for this work. if it descended into street fighting of pro-gadhafi infantry versus rebel infantry forces, it's very difficult from the air. it is possible to help them but it becomes that much more difficult to make a clean strike without incurring friendly casualties on the ground. >> edward hunt in london. thank you for joining us. we'll have more on the attacks in the skies over libya when we

come back. plus -- the struggle to contain stricken nuclear power plans. a new dawn in japan. new setback for a country desperately trying to regain control. [ man ] ♪ trouble ♪ trouble, trouble trouble, trouble ♪ ♪ trouble been doggin' my soul ♪ since the day i was born ♪ worry ♪ oh, worry, worry worry, worry ♪ [ announcer ] when it comes to things you care about, leave nothing to chance. travelers. take the scary out of life. how are you getting to a happier place? running there? dancing there?

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for the latest on the disaster in japan. today major setbacks. more smoke billowing from the site at the stricken reactors at fukushima. the site had to be evacuated after gray smoke, as shown in the latest photo, began to leak from the spent fuel area in the number 3 reactor. it happened as experts said they believed the crisis could be overcome, after power was reconnected to all six of the reactors. and officials have revealed radiation has been detected in both food and water in the

fukushima area. 6,000 residents living near the plant have been ordered not to drink water. sales of milk and spinach from the area are now suspended. and officials say there is no evidence of contaminated food from fukushima reaching any other countries quond the borders of japan. joining me to assess the situation in japan, bill nye, known as the science guy. we have rising levels of radiation, we've got smoke coming out of these towers. why don't we just hit these plants with concrete and close them off and forget about trying to repair think of these? >> well, that's my vote. i mentioned it several times. but i'll tell you, in my experience, people in the nuclear industry are believers. they want to do everything they can to show nuclear power is viable, it's a great thing, and they try just about anything. by the way, just pouring concrete on it is probably the ultimate solution. but it's not a trivial thing. i mean, flying aircraft in there

with buckets of concrete, extra borate in it to ab-new york neutrons, it's not easy. getting it cooled off would be great. >> we're display nothing control whatsoever of the contamination leakage that just continues every single day. >> i agree with you. you fl know, nobody wants radian in their milk or food. >> >> or spinach. >> there's a spinach field nearby. the dust and particulate matter gets radioactive and it falls down and stuff. the dangerous one is iodine, which is a daughter product of the reaction and that gets -- cows eat the zbras it gets in the milk. >> six workers exposed to something like 100 millie sieverts of radiation. but most people are exposed to three a year. >> yes. sounds about right, yeah. >> what kind of condition are these workers? >> really bad. i mean, they will certainly

contract some form of cancer, sooner or later, and perhaps they'll recobber from it, the way other cancer survivors live through it, but it's very dangerous. with my experience, these people are from that area, their homes are gone, their families are gone, everyone they've ever known is gone, their village is gone. imagine walking around the streets of the flooded out area or in there helping your buddies address this problem? i think that's human nature. you just want to do what you can. >> you said earlier that there's this mentality among nuclear scientists. >> seems like it all over the world. nuclear engineers. >> nuclear engineers who believe they can resolve the problem. what is going to persuade them if not now, that it's time to walk away from this? >> i think somebody's going to have to declare it, somebody from the outside's going to have to go, look, tokyo, enough's enough. >> like the international atomic

energy? >> for example, yeah. so what i always say, this is something else for everybody to think about, no matter what you think of the safety of nuclear power plants now, the need for nuclear power plants to address, say, greenhouse gas emissions, there are 434 nuclear -- commission nuclear power plants, maybe you'd say now there are 433, there are 800,000 oil wells. 3500 are offshore. one blew up last summer, sank. people came unglued, horrified the oil company would allow this to happen. wait until there are 4,000 nuclear plants or 14,000 nuclear plants. there will be another accident. these are run by humans. things will go wrong. is it worth it? if you're asking me, no. but -- >> i'm asking you as a scientist, very briefly, what would you like to see happen now at fukushima? >> i'd like to see if they can get it cooled off, i'd give

them, say, till the weekend. if they can't, then start the process of just burying it. and meanwhile i would stage the gear for burying it. what some people call the japanese air force to get ready to drop stuff. i would take precautions different from what happened at chernobyl where helicopter pilots got very, very sick and died after radiation exposure. i talked to a guy at northrop grumman involved in refueling navy reactors about chernobyl thing. it's very serious. these people gave up their lives for the betterment of the countrymen. and i want everybody, taxpayers and voters to really stop and think if it's worth doing. >> bill nye, thanks for joining us. the president is in south america now, as bombs fall in libya, and he's facing criticism at home. we'll have more ahead. and tim pawlenty, come on down, you're the next contestant

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into to chile, where president spoke moments ago defending u.s. action in libya. the president's continuing his tour of south america, even as he faces criticism at home over the libyan assault. president has sought to play down the u.s. role as a partner in an allied effort. while some in washington worry the u.s. is taking a backseat, others are weary of getting unnecessarily involved in a nasty civil war. nbc's chief white house correspondent savannah guthrie is traveling with the president in santiago, and she joins us now. hi, savannah. >> reporter: martin, good to see you. >> thank you. the conflict in libya's clearly overshadowing the president's visit. do you know how he's reacting to briefings that he's getting from his military chiefs? >> reporter: well, he's getting briefings all the time now.

he got just two this morning, actually one on libya, one on japan. administration officials gave us a tick tock of all of the briefings he's received since friday night and it's been more or less round the clock. he's been dashing in between the meetings, for example, saturday, with the brazilian president and talking to his secretary of state, secretary of defense, and on saturday, authorizing this military action. he's getting i lot of the briefings and so far, so good. the u.s. feels in terms of the military action, no question the u.s. is in the lead here in these initial stages and as the president explained a few minutes ago, that was by design, the feeling is that the u.s. is uniquely able to set the stage for a no-fly zone, that it has the capabilities in the form of cruise missiles off some of the ships in the mediterranean in terms of surveillance, jamming technology, refueling ability. so the idea is for the u.s. to take the lead initially, set conditions to enforce a no-fly zone, and administration aides repeatedly insist to us, it will

be a matter of days, not weeks, before the date-to-day operations will be handed over to the coalition for the enforcement of this no-fly zone. >> savannah guthrie, traveling with the president in chile, thank you very much for joining us. we're following the latest developments concerning the disaster in japan. the death toll from the march 11th quake and tsunami is still climbing. with 21,000 people dead or missing. another 350,000 survivors are now in emergency shelters. the world bank estimates some 235 billion in damages in the region, making it one of the costliest natural disasters in modern history. today, rescue workers are once again out in force, hoping to find survivors among the piles of rubble. just yesterday, an 80-year-old woman and her teenage grandson were found alive nine days after the quake. itv has their remarkable story.

>> reporter: weak, but alive. the 16-year-old is recovering in hospital. possible frost light and a leg injury, but otherwise unscathed. i'm so relieved to be rescued, he mumbled, after nine days entombed in his home with his 80-year-old grandmother, little wonder there's exhaustion in his voice. we drank water and ate snacks, he says. simple things that kept the pair alive. his grandmother still in remarkably good health. just a teenager, he is a symbol of hope for japan, a rare example of joy in a country ravaged by grief. rescuers buoyed by his survival,

continue to search for others trapped by the earthquake and tsunami. the country does what it can to deal with the overwhelming natural disaster. in a town of in otori the bowling alleys a temporary morgue. worried friends and relatives tore over the list, hoping they are survivors, too. but fearing they are not. itv news. >> thanks to itv for that report. there is a famous japanese proverb, people turn to the gods in times of trouble. the endurance, patience and depth of character shown by the japanese people over the last seven day has served as both the revelation and inspiration to the rest of the world. despite being blindsided by a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami, followed quickly by a nuclear disaster, there's been a noticeable lack of lawlessness or panic in the face of

unimaginable suffering. professor john nelson, chair of the department of theology and religious studies at university of san francisco, and he joins us now. good afternoon, sir. >> good afternoon, marten. where does this calm and fortitude come from? is it essentially learned behavior, sociologically, or theological? >> well, maybe it's safe to say it's a combination of both. certainly the sociology of the japanese behavior in the face of such widespread suffering and catastrophe, really, is something that is learned and part of their educational package, part of their growing up, as japanese in this type of society. they learn, of course, how to respond to earthquakes, to soon, every year there's at least two disaster drills. but they're also taught in a way to respond to the needs of others before themselves. so this is also a very key

component in the way that they approach something like a disaster of this magnitude. now, theology, on the theological side, that's not the word i would use, maybe spirit actual or religious side. certainly this goes back to some of the foundations of japanese culture and society, two major religious traditions but the dominance one is buddhism. buddhism teaches that life has suffering and we have to find ways to cope with suffering. the other main religious t tradition, it was in japan before buddhism arrived, it's called sh eed shinto. >> some experts on japanese culture speak of how much more collectivist they are in their outlook, thinking first, for example, of we rather than i. does that mean they are fundamentally less self-centered than americans and other nations?

>> well, that's a difficult and sensitive question to apply to -- for the answer to apply to a very diverse and complex country like japan. certainly the younger generation would be more individualistic and more comparable to americans or europeans or australians. the older generation, though, and i think this is what we're seeing in many communities, because we have to remember, these communities are not tokyo, they're not large, urban areas. these are coastal communities, largely blue collar, working class communities, families have been there for quite some time. so the degree of integration is much higher than what you would find in an urban setting. yes? >> a number of commentators have remarked, almost aghast, that there hasn't been more social unrest, looting. to what do you attribute that? >> a variety of factors. first of all, if we compare the

situation in japan to a disaster that americans know about, the katrina hurricane in new orleans, really, it's very different scale because in new orleans, people were cut off, they were isolated, there was a vast amount of water over a huge area and social services, rescue services could not reach them. in these coastal areas in japan, however, we're having, you know, very small, compact areas that have been affected. so even though the devastation is extensive, rescue workers can get in and reach them quite quickly. now, the story about being found after eight days under the rubble maybe belies that comment, but still i think there has been more access to these areas. now, also in japan, people are raised and grow up in communities where there's a very strong police presence. i would say that the system of police boxes or outposts are extensive and much more

pervasive in japan than we find them in the united states or even in europe. so people have sort of a working relationship with the police in their area. they know that they're being watched and surveillance cameras are everywhere, so i think this is another factor. but if you follow the japanese news, we do see some stories about robbery, looting, even stories about people gaining people who are soliciting funds on the streets of tokyo, being robbed of the donations from the little boxes that they were taking back home. >> notten tirely perfect, but nevertheless an interesting example for all of us. professor john nelson, thanks so much for joining us. >> thank you for the opportunity. [ female announcer ] right now he's not thinking

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largest cell phone company in the united states, as the company prepares to buy t-mobile in a cash and stock deal values at $39 billion. the acquisition could take a year to finalize. general motors will temporarily close a louisiana plant because of dwindling supplies of japanese-made parts. analysts expect the crisis in japan to cause widespread disruptions at plants across north america. that is it from cnbc for now. we are first in business worldwide. back over to you. earlier this hour, anti-aircraft fire could be heard in tripoli, and there are reports of more attacks in that area. nbc's jim maceda's on the ground now and he joins us on the phone. jim, what whaktly is go on at this moment. >> reporter: martin, at this moment, things have gotten a bit quiet. but about an hour ago we had our third wave of aircraft fire

responding to a series of explosions. last night it was one rather large, loud, and deep explosion. tonight it was three explosions, one behind the other, deep thuds, the kind that just send chills through your spine. but that, too, just like last night and the night before, followed by a barrage of anti-aircraft fire, that type of ka coffu cacophony defensive fire filled up the skies here. that lasted for several minutes and then it was hard to tell whether it was more anti-aircraft explosions or air strike. we couldn't determine it. but that also triggered in another wave, or barrage of attacks, anti-aircraft fire. i couldn't call it a pattern. it has been three nights in a row now.

the very first night from saturday to sunday happened much later about 2:00, 3:00 in the morning. last night it was around 10:00 p.m. our time. tonight, about 9:00 p.m., about an hour ago. martin? >> are you able, jim to orientate yourself and know where these miffs aphiladelphia targeting? what is the direction in which they're going? >> yes, we have a sense, we have some kind of presence up on the roof, after it gets dark, so we have a sense that the last night and tonight were both going into the same direction, the same area and last night we concluded, even before we got the order from the remainders here to head out to the palace, the compound of colonel gadhafi, that it was the same as last night. tonight, it was roughly the same

area. we have not been ordered or invited to get on buss and go to that same location. several journalists went last night, myself and others decided not to go, after discussing it amongst ourselves last night. we thought that the potential for human shields was too great. tonight, so far, there has been no invitation. it seems like tonight it was the same location. as those who did go saw a building, part of the vast compound that gadhafi lives in, works out of, and one building that three-story building that was seriously damaged, you may have seen pictures during the day of chunks of metal that allegedly was from a cruise missile that hit that building last night. all of this happened on part of the compound. gadhafi was not there at the time. no one has seen moammar gadhafi now since friday, in fact,

publicly at least. tonight seemed to be the same area and we're waiting to see whether any journalists are asked to come out and get on buses and go out and be shown what the aftermath was. >> jim maceda, remain safe in tripoli. thank you.ere? how about eating soup to get there? campbell's soups fill you with good nutrition, farm-grown ingredients, and can help you keep a healthy weight. campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do.

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>> more with marten in just a moment. we have another story developing at this hour. former minnesota governor tim pawlenty announced he is considering a run for president. he launched an committee. we'll have more after this. and my itchy eyes took refuge from the dust in here and the pollen outside. but with 24-hour zyrtec®, i get prescription strength relief

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although president obama's authorization of military action

against libya on friday came eight years to the day since his predecessor launched "operation iraqi freedom" the obama administration has taken every possible opportunity to emphasize that this intervention is all-together different from that which took place in 2003. first, the president has not authorized any ground forces to be deployed inside libya. second, it was the arab league that took a leading role in calling for a no-fly zone across libya seven days before the coalition fired a single missile. so the administration has some justification in claiming that the 2011 operation is different. this is a hazardous and unpredictable journey and durability of this coalition will be tested on a daily basis especially since it looks like gadhafi is not prepared to go quietly into the night. which leads to this question. if libya is not iraq, what about

the comparisons between colonel gadhafi and the late saddam hussein? this may well be the best indication of what we're in for. if you cast your minds back to the first gulf war in 1991, you may recall a relatively short lived conflict, an aerial bombardment and ground assault and kuwait liberated in weeks. a no-fly zone was imposed upon iraq in order to protect the kurds in the north. the result? despite a strong coalition and a swift conflict, saddam hussein continued to rule iraq for another 13 years. so while protecting the people of libya has become a priority for the international community, we better be prepared for a battle with gadhafi that i'm sure will be neither swift nor straightforward. thanks for watching. next, the smartest take on the economy with dylan ratigan.

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